


Stairway to Heaven

by debwalsh



Series: Take Up Your Shield and Follow Me [5]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. References, Captain America: The Winter Soldier Compliant, F/M, Gen, M/M, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-30
Updated: 2015-05-30
Packaged: 2018-04-01 22:19:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4036576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/debwalsh/pseuds/debwalsh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the fall of the Triskelion, Tony Stark is determined to rebuild, at Stark Tower.  And if he’s pilfering data from around the world to identify the Hydra threat, and locate Cap’s frosty treat Olaf, who’s gonna know?</p><p>While Steve recovers in the hospital, Natasha testifies on the Hill, and the world tries to figure out just what went wrong, Tony is taking action to make it right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stairway to Heaven

**Author's Note:**

> Another chapter of **Take Up Your Shield and Follow Me**! Kinda on a roll here, because I need to clear some of these chapters away before I can tackle Bucky's therapy session. And eventually "Speechless," the story in which both boys find out how they've damaged the other, and what they can do to heal. So, please stick with me!
> 
> As an aside, this is really the first Tony-centric thing I've written, and I feel like I've captured his voice. He is certainly fun and challenging to write!

_“In the wake of this week’s disaster at SHIELD headquarters in Washington, DC, security is on high alert, and emergency crews from all over the eastern seaboard are en route to Washington to assist in the clean-up. FEMA is already on-site assessing damage to residential neighborhoods. Local hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties, and some patients have had to be medivaced to nearby state hospitals in Maryland and Virginia, and some as far as Delaware and Pennsylvania. There is still no accurate death count._

_The question remains – how did the world’s pre-eminent security organization, one so powerful it transcended governments, get to this point? And what does that mean for your safety? That’s what emergency meetings on the Hill today are trying to find out.”_

“Turn it off,” Tony Stark commanded to the air as he walked into the sunken living room of his apartment in Stark Tower. The massive screen went blank, sending the vaulted room into silence for a moment. He paused to look out toward the floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall window, and the vista that was New York City, the graceful scallops of the Chrysler Building, and grinned.

“I was listening to that.”

He glanced over to where Pepper Potts was sitting on the couch, twisting around to level him with a Pepperish glare. “No, you weren’t. We don’t want to hear any more. Fury’s screwed the pooch and the pooch came back with rabies and bit him in the ass.” He snagged an orange juice from the mini-fridge, and dropped down beside her on the couch.

“Fury’s dead,” Pepper reminded earnestly. “You could show a little respect,” she added, snapping her wrist so her hand smacked him on the thigh.

“I’ll believe that when I see it. And, ow. And nobody I know stays dead for long. At least not anymore.” He took a sip of OJ and sighed.

“Phil’s dead,” she reminded quietly.

“Phil was killed by a crack-headed demigod, it doesn’t count. For the ones that count,” he added and gestured in her general direction. “Case in point.”

“Point taken,” she sighed deeply. “But there’s still a hell of a mess to clean up here.”

“Not my job. Not your job. You have a job, running Stark International.”

“I also have a responsibility. A social responsibility. And you do, too.”

“Not this time. This is somebody else’s mess.”

“They’re going to need a place to stay,” Pepper shook her head disapprovingly.

“Who?”

“Our friends. What’s left of SHIELD. What’s left of the organization your father helped found,” Pepper reminded pointedly. Tony remained impassively obnoxious. “That Senate committee is going to be looking for someone to blame. How much you want to bet it’s whoever still standing when the dust settles?”

“Sucker bet, you know I don’t take those.” The OJ was almost empty, and he eyed the bottle dubiously, as if he expected it to spontaneously refill.

“Right. And who do you think is going to be standing tall trying to do what’s right?”

“Rogers, front and center.” Stark sighed theatrically. “At least once he’s out of the hospital. I know, you sent flowers – roses, right?” he grinned at her, but her stern expression quelled his enthusiasm for the game. “Okay, point to you. But what do you expect me to do about it? Capsicle can take care of himself.”

“Steve isn’t political. Things don’t work today the way they did in the 1940s.”

“Isn’t he hanging with Romanov? She can show him what’s what.” He twisted around to face her and asked, “Think they’re doing the nasty? Black Widow claimed Cap’s virginity?”

“You’re disgusting. You know that Natalie and Clint are a thing.”

“Are they? A thing? Like we’re a thing?”

“We’re going to have to make room,” she countered, ignoring his decline into adolescent banter. She rose and looked around her at the expanse of the penthouse floor of the tower. “Actually, we’ve got plenty of space, there are so many unused floors in this building it’s not funny,” she added, pacing thoughtfully.

“Actually I like funny. I like those empty floors. Empty is good – there’s no liability with damaged tenants if floors are empty and labs go boom. I have plans for those empty floors to stay empty so I don’t have to deal with tenants. Or people, for that matter,” Tony argued, frowning as he twisted to watch her cover ground like a mama panther. “It’s my personal space – you know how I feel about personal space!“

“It wouldn’t take much to outfit the floors with living quarters,” she told him, pausing and pointing a finger in his general direction.

“Only money, time, and dust. One I got, the others not so much. And there’s the whole personal space thing.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re not in charge anymore, isn’t it? I’ll get right on it. You contact Bruce, I’ll get the architecture division on the phone. And Jarvis?” she called out to the open air.

The cultured British voice of Tony’s AI, Jarvis responded, “Yes, Miss Potts?”

“I’ll need you to start pulling together parameters for each of our guests. What do we need to have for them to feel comfortable –“

“Or contained –“

“Or _safe_ ,” she corrected with a look. “Security is going to be an important imperative.”

“You’re going to bring all the world’s greatest superheroes to my house, and you think security is going to be an issue?”

“Tony, anybody who can bring down SHIELD is going to be gunning for you all.”

“Fine, bring the chickadees together. We’ll all bunk in and have a slumber party, braid each other’s hair and talk about boys – don’t forget to order extra marshmallows for the s’mores!” 

As she sped off to put her plans into action, Tony pulled up a virtual display and went back to working on his own play. The Triskelion of SHIELD may have fallen spectacularly into the Potomac, but that didn’t mean that all SHIELD’s data centers were similarly waterlogged. He had a limited window to pull data off the satellites, mainframes and data cores before the system went dark or was plundered by whoever turned those helicarriers into overwrought Frisbees. He planned to take it all, and he already had claimed much of it, but there were more hidden bases to tap. Because as sure as he was Iron Man (and he was, you know), the answer to what had just happened was buried in the data stack. He just had to find it. Especially if they were getting the band back together. 

Note to self: Pull out the plans for “Avengers Tower” and gift them to Pepper tonight over dinner.

Tony grinned wolfishly at the data stream flickering in the air before him as his bots went out and siphoned data off the remaining active servers tied to both SHIELD and Hydra operations. And anything else either system was linked to. Yes, the StarkWorm (patent not pending – Tony wasn’t about to release the code into public sector) was unparalleled in its ability to locate and coopt data.

Oh, yeah, speaking of siphoning … he had some accounts to liberate as well.

Operation Suck It Hydra was in full swing. 

&&&

“So. How was your day, dear?” Tony asked sweetly as he poured the wine.

“Seriously, we’re doing this?” Pepper asked doubtfully, a playful half-smile on her lips. 

She looked tired, Tony decided. She was taking on too much. He put the bottle down and slid the glass by its base over to her and nodded. “Drink up, you’ve earned it.”

“So we’re doing this. Well, I have earned it, you know. I earn it every day. Y’know, but it’s nice to hear you say it, every once in a while. You know, maybe once?”

He took a sip of his wine and savored the flavor, the smooth burn over his tongue and down his throat. “I do appreciate you, you know. I may not express it well, but that’s to be expected. Emotionally closed off father, boarding school at too early an age. Glibness was often my only companion and my only defense. A crutch really.”

“Hm,” she observed curtly, taking a sip of her wine.

“But seriously, Pep – you’re taking on too much. One day of this retrofit and you’re flattened.”

“There’s just so much to figure out, so much to do –“ she cut herself off, eyes widening as he pulled out a sheaf of architectural drawings and slid them toward her with a smirk. “Are they what I think they are? When did you –“

“Been tinkering with them for a while. Ever since the Chitauri, actually. Figured we may have to bunk in with everyone at some point – the universe knows we’re here, as Fury noted. It’s been something I play with when I have trouble sleeping, like a puzzle of fuzzy kittens. I don’t know if you’ll be able to convince everyone to relocate, but I think these plans will accommodate everyone’s needs pretty efficiently.”

“Why didn’t you mention these earlier?” she breathed, rolling out the plans, and running a fingertip over the schematics. She glanced down at the signature block. “These are already approved by the city!”

He nodded encouragingly, hopeful of her approval as well. “Yeah. About that. Those designs were finalized … after the Chitauri. The basic structures were in the rebuild. Banking against the future. Didn’t make sense of use them if no one would ever live here, so there’s that. And I didn’t want to assume – I wanted this to be something you wanted.”

“You let me, I spent hours – what the hell, Tony?”

Okay, not the reaction he was hoping for. “In my own defense, I was busy today, too. I’ve only got so much time to pull everything off the SHIELD servers before they’re shut down by the government. Governments, plural. It’s hard – not impossible, mind you, but hard – to hack a computer that’s offline. It gets harder when they start dismantling the unit. Even I can’t hack a computer that’s in pieces.”

A smile lit her face, setting her eyes aglow. It was Tony’s favorite expression, and he felt his chin sinking into the palm of his hand to gaze into that face. “So you are taking this seriously.”

“Like the proverbial heart attack. My approach may be a bit more unconventional, but y’gotta admit – I get results.”

“Okay,” she agreed with a smile. She took a sip from her wine and settled back in her chair, her smile deepening. “How long until you have everything?”

“Hard to say. I’ve pulled all the SHIELD and Hydra data from the primary servers, and now I’m downloading linked system data. That’s taken me to Centipede and AIM. Based on what I’ve seen so far, bastards tried to continue the Extremis program. I’m still uncovering connections, but the StarkWorm is doing its job. Jarvis has already started analysis of the downloaded data.”

At the mention of Extremis, Pepper’s hand stalled in the air and hung there, the slightest tremor running up her fingers. If Tony didn’t know better, he’d swear the temperature just rose, and a flash of orange cycled through Pepper’s eyes. But he _did_ know better. “Extremis,” she repeated.

Tony nodded. “Yeah. I haven’t gotten far in my review, but it looks like they’ve been recruiting vets, folks down on their luck. Stockpiling human guinea pigs, but when they dissolve in a pile of ash, there’s no evidence to clean up.” He caught her hand and brought the trembling fingers to his lips, brushed his lips over the soft knuckles. “That’s not going to happen to you.” He circled her waist with his other hand and pulled her closer. “ _Never_ going to happen to you.”

“Not everyone has a guardian angel who can perform surgery on a chromosome,” Pepper admonished him gently, watching fondly as his lips continued to play over her hand, but an underlying darkness seemed to rise in her eyes. “I thought we’d ended that program when Killian died.”

“Apparently once that genie was out of the bottle, there was no shortage of opportunists ready to carry on his ‘great work’,” Tony observed, venom lacing his voice. 

She nodded slowly, lips tight. She sighed, a deep-chested sigh of weariness and sadness. “So people are still suffering for his insanity.” She flicked her gaze toward Tony, who watched her expectantly. “That’s why we have to keep our friends safe.” He nodded. She picked up the edge of the drawings and nodded toward the stack. “I’m going to need your help implementing these plans.”

“I know. I’ve got you penciled in as appropriate.” He flashed an encouraging grin at her, and her face softened into a smile.

“Penciled in.”

“Sure. You don’t even have to make an appointment with my assistant – I’m available 24/7. To you, Ms. Potts. Only you.”

“Well, I appreciate that, Mr. Stark,” she told him with a challenge and a twinkle in her eyes.

“I’m glad of that, Ms. Potts. Especially since I’ll need to accelerate fabrication of silicon carbide-coated vibranium alloy for at least two of the floors.”

“Oh?”

“Banner’s for sure. By the way, called him, gave him the 411, and he’s on his way. Said to say hi. I’m going to need his help in the analysis of the data I’ve, well, call a spade a spade, the data I’ve taken.”

“Who else?”

“Cap’s buddy. The ‘Winter Soldier.’ Romanov’s on the hunt.” At her imperiously arched eyebrow, he flashed a grin. “Told you I’ve been busy. Got her on the horn as soon as she left the Subcommittee chambers. Rogers is likely going to mount his own mission, but with Nat and Barton on the case, I feel a whole lot better about containing collateral damage. Cap’s likely to go all kumbaya on him again – Romanov’s all about capture. Once we have him, we’ll have to contain him until we figure out what to do with him. Don’t know how bad Olaf’s been broken until we have him in custody. What data I’ve been able to find, it looks like Barnes has broken programming more than once, tried to get away, only to be recaptured by Hydra and punished. Reprogrammed. Fluffy pillows and hot chocolate were not involved. Figuring out what to do with him is going to require Bruce even more. 

“If we’re lucky, once he’s stable, we can convert his containment to a holding cell after.” At her doubtful look, he countered, “What, you think we’ve seen the last of alien invaders? Loki’s buddies put out an intergalactic all you can eat buffet sign. It’s only a matter of time before the next incursion.”

“Well, then. I guess we’d better have an early night then, hmmm? Lots to do tomorrow.”

&&&

Over the next couple of weeks, the transformation from Stark Tower to Avengers Tower took shape, individual floors built out to accommodate the unique needs of each of the proposed residents. Washington, DC, and in fact all of the world’s capitols, continued to demand answers, reparations, and sacrificial lambs for the SHIELD/Hydra implosion. By the time SHIELD accounts were confiscated, they were seen to be woefully underfunded, launching yet another paroxysm of finger pointing and blame-gaming. Not surprisingly, Stark Industries continued to fly under everyone’s radar, and no one came looking for cash or data at Tony’s door.

What did arrive at his door, or rather the company’s, was an influx of ex-SHIELD personnel, first and foremost Maria Hill. She was vetted through HR, Happy gleefully ran security checks on her only to come up empty (he was grumpy for an entire day), and Pepper welcomed her to the family. After that, Maria was put in charge of determining the provenance of all other ex-SHIELD staff, uncovering a few loyal to Hydra, but mostly just folks looking to make their way in a free world. Happy was happier being assigned to security checks on all the incoming. Seriously, Tony hadn’t seen him this happy since before Afghanistan. Well, except for when he met Cap, but Rogers seemed to have that effect on just about everyone he met … Tony would never admit the fanboy squee he did when he first met Cap. Some things were better kept between one’s inner fanboy and one’s self …

Tony continued to ply the StarkWorm throughout the computers, phones, tablets, and storage devices connected to SHIELD and Hydra servers worldwide, hauling in terabytes of raw data that Jarvis continued to sift and collate while never missing a beat in all his other functions and calculations. As a unit, Tony, the StarkWorm, and Jarvis sucked up the remaining SHIELD and Hydra data before those data centers went dark. 

Tony could see from the progression of dying data stacks that someone was systematically taking out targets around the metro DC area. Odds were that was Cap’s pal from back in the day, and he fed the information to Romanov and Barton as they tried to locate the dude in the flesh. He also put in a request for any tech they might find, especially anything that was connected to the Winter Soldier program. Tony went on to hack into and take over the SHIELD satellites, initiating a formal takeover of the assets by Stark Industries.

Dad would have been so proud, Sonny taking over the family business. Literally. Piece by piece, dismantling the monster and remaking it in his own image. A veritable Frankenstein for the modern age. And this time, he was going to do it _right_.

&&&

As work on retrofitting the residence floors of the tower progressed, and news came out of Washington – from Romanov, not the news media – that Cap had been released from the hospital, the hearings continued in DC, and the world ground on in its search for scapegoats. Hill was called away to testify, but then apparently went off-grid for a couple of days. Tony attempted to reach Hill, but she was completely unreachable. He found this mighty suspicious. In the meantime, Pepper put out the call to all the Avengers to come to Stark Tower, as the first floors neared completion. 

As expected, Bruce was the first to arrive, having the least to tie him to any one place. He immediately went to work to tweak Tony’s design, reinforcing the floors, walls, ceiling, as well as the stairwell and elevator shaft as it passed through his floor. Then he laid out his plans for a Hulk-proofed structure in the sub-basement of the tower, away from civilians and potential casualties. Tony looked over the schematics in silence while Bruce stood by nervously and Pepper nibbled on her thumbnail anxiously. When Tony grabbed a pencil and sketched in some additional reinforcing, a backup comm system, and a separate airflow system, both Pepper and Bruce visibly relaxed. They all agreed the tweaks Tony offered improved the overall design, and Pepper snagged the designs and sailed out of the room to consult with their build team, Bruce in her wake.

When Maria Hill resurfaced in the security office at the tower, Tony confronted her about her absence. She informed him about John Garrett taking the Fridge, and all the advanced tech that he’d liberated. He pressed her for her source, but all she’d admit was that there were still a few cells of loyal SHIELD agents out there fighting the good fight, trying to contain the potential for disaster in SHIELD’s own storage facilities.

“With no infrastructure, no funding, and no backup?”  
  


Hill nodded, her expression tight.

“Badass. I want names, I want locations. Give me IP addresses, I’ll dump the data, fry the hard drives remotely.”

She shook her head. “Sorry, it’s classified.”

“SHIELD is officially a terrorist organization. Romanov posted the bulk of SHIELD and Hydra data on the frickin’ internet. The top brass are either dead or in federal custody. What’s left to be classified?”

Hill would not give up names or locations. She told him that anyone else knowing about these operatives could put them in danger. And since there was no backup coming to bail them out, she wouldn’t endanger them any further.

“The tech in Fury’s toyboxes – Tesseract-fueled?”

“Some of it,” she replied tersely.

“Alien?”

“Some of it,” she agreed again, sighing heavily as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“SHIELD can’t protect it.”

“It’s too dangerous to put in civilian hands, Tony.”

“SHIELD can’t be trusted at this point. You had Hydra growing in your midst for over 60 years. The very thing you were formed to protect the world from took you apart from the inside. That tech is too dangerous to leave in SHIELD custody. Fury never learned his lesson, did he? ”

Hill’s lips flattened into a thin, tight line, her nostrils flaring as her teeth ground together. 

“I can contain it. I can protect it. Hell, I can give it to Thor to take off the planet, and we don’t have to worry about some idiot scientist with a degree from a pretzel factory triggering a meltdown to the planet’s core.”

“Let it go, Tony.”

“What? So I should show blind faith in an organization that targeted me for assassination?”

“That was Hydra, not SHIELD. And a lot of good people put their lives on the line so that wouldn’t happen. Cap, for one.”

“And I’m grateful. But it wouldn’t have been necessary if SHIELD hadn’t been complacent about how effectively it had a handle on the situation. You know, like, not at all.”

“Like you knew.”

“I knew there were threats. I never fully trusted Fury. I only marginally trusted Coulson, and that was because Pepper did. I’m still not sure about you. In fact, the only SHIELD agent I ever really trusted was Peggy Carter.”

“You trust Romanov. You trust Barton.”

“Funny thing, when someone saves your life, you kind of have to reevaluate. Trust doesn’t come easy, but hey. I’ve literally put my life in their hands, and _they_ haven’t let me down. They aren’t SHIELD agents, they’re friends. Your serve.”

“Didn’t realize we were keeping score.”

“Oh, count on it. It’s obvious Director Fury learned nothing from the whole Loki/alien invasion scenario.” She opened her mouth to protest, and he shushed her with an aggressive point of his finger. “Case in point. Psycho John Garrett is in possession of alien tech. How much of it is there?”

“The Fridge was on its own island.”

“Fury’s been collecting for a long time.”

“Collection dates back to Peggy Carter and the SSR.”

“Huh.”

“Still think you can trust her?”

“She didn’t experiment with the stuff. I’d’ve known. There would be notes in my father’s stuff.”

“Yes, Howard Stark was well known for his transparency.”

Tony smiled, wolfish and predatory. “Howard Stark was a class A asshole, but he was also a first class scientist. He destroyed a lot of his own inventions when it became obvious even the SSR couldn’t be trusted to treat them with caution. But, we digress. Tesseract power. In the hands of terrorists.”

“Our teams will have it under control shortly.”

“Our teams. You mean Fury’s teams. Not your current employer’s. Because I’m not really sure you realize that I’m the guy that signs your paychecks now, Ms. Hill.”

“It’s electronic funds transfer. All the kids are doing it these days.”

“Technicality.”

“Pepper Potts is CEO, she’s my boss. Not you.”

“Still my name on the marquee, and I’m still majority shareholder, so cut the sass, Hill.”

“I’m sorry, Tony. I can’t. It’s not my information to give up.”

“Fine. You clear any further absences with Pepper. You’re working for Stark Industries now, Hill. In a position of trust. Make sure we can trust you, right? Make sure _I_ can trust you.”

With that, Tony stalked out of her office, leaving her behind to make of his words what she would. He’d put a bug in Happy’s ear. Happy was happiest when he had someone to suspect, an antagonist to go up against. It would totally make Happy’s day for Tony to suggest that Maria Hill might not be on-board the Stark train. 

&&&

“So, what, now you’re running Tony Stark’s Home for the Super and Gifted?”

“Funny. You’re a funny man, Rhodey,” Tony answered his old friend Colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes. He’d been Rhodey to Tony since their college days, and far too often the conscience Tony hadn’t recognized he needed. He was also one of the few people in the world who could snipe at Tony, critique and tease, and still get invited to the party after.

“Pepper’s idea,” he said off-handedly, effectively minimizing the gathering of the clan to non-importance.

“Yeah, right. Like you didn’t somehow manipulate her into it? Tony, it’s me,” he added, tapping himself on the chest. He waited expectantly for Stark to capitulate.

“Well, that’s just insulting. To Pepper,” Tony responded, and there was some actual heat in the response. He might let Rhodey get away with murder when it came to him, but when it was Pepper, gloves were off. Even if he was right …

&&&

Banner took the lead on refining the satellite surveillance, taking the Tesseract-energy mapping program to focus in on Tesseract-fueled tech. In support of that – and because he really didn’t trust anyone associated with SHIELD at this point – Tony accelerated the shift in ownership of SHIELD’s satellite network to Stark Industries. SHIELD was still a thing, and it was a thing that Tony Stark no longer trusted. As if he ever had … but they had some decent tech, and the expansion of the satellite network gave them a wider net to search the planet for weaponry and tech.

Romanov and Barton were still on the ground in DC, on the trail of the Winter Soldier. Barnes. Capsicle’s bestie. At the same time, Tony had begun to analyze the SHIELD data with Jarvis’s help. In the process, he uncovered more details of Hydra within SHIELD, realizing that the infection went not only deep, but back to the founding days of SHIELD. Zola wasn’t the only Hydra operative in the early days of the organization. 

As the data gave up its secrets, Tony also found out more about the Winter Soldier program. And the fact that Bucky Barnes wasn’t the only subject taken in and out of cryostasis, but he was the only one who survived. He also confirmed that Alexander Pierce was involved for decades. He set that information aside with the rest of the details damning the one-time Nobel Peace Prize winner. Seriously, Oslo really needed to improve their selection criteria.

The satellite surveillance began to resolve into a clearer picture of Hydra holdings as well as Hydra operatives still at large. It rapidly became clear that Fury had gone a little crazy manufacturing tech based on the Tesseract, and it was equally clear that Hydra had helped themselves to much of that tech. A further tweak of the algorithm for detecting Tesseract energy, and the next scan showed Earth lighting up like a Christmas tree with signatures for Tesseract energy. Tony was especially interested to not that Tesseract signatures in the DC area were fading, half-life dissipating then winking out, ultimately leaving only a single signature.

“Whaddya think?” Bruce asked, settling back in his chair to watch the fading signatures, and the one solid one still moving in DC.

“Think we found our guy, don’t you?”

“Really think that’s Cap’s friend?”

Tony leaned against the lab table, gripping his chin in his hand as he studied the map thoughtfully. “Dad’s notes said that Barnes was in Hydra custody for a while before Cap liberated that camp. In Arnim Zola’s custody. With the Red Skull in attendance. They had access to Erskine’s original formula in Schmidt’s blood. They could have synthesized the serum. But they didn’t have Erskine’s vita-rays.”

“The missing piece to every puzzle concerning the super soldier serum,” Bruce sighed heavily.

“Right. You know. Not gamma.”

“ _Definitely_ not gamma.”

“But … what about what they did have?” He nodded toward the map. 

“What?”

“The Tesseract itself.”

“Tony, contact with that thing would have destroyed Barnes. Burnt him up and left only dust behind.”

“ _If_ they touched him with it. But what if they just exposed him to it, used it as the activator for the serum, like old Abraham did with Steve and the vita-rays?”

“So. You really think that’s Barnes,” Bruce posited, gesturing toward the map. “What, the Tesseract energy signature in him is so strong, it’s still detectable 70 years later?”

“Either that, or that prosthetic is Tesseract-fueled.”

“So he’s got a Tesseract-fueled weapon attached to his body. Tony, that could mean that Barnes is suffering from some kind of radiation poisoning. In addition to all the other horrible stuff that’s been done to him.”

“Stuff his knock-off serum can or can’t hold at bay?”

“That kind of onslaught, it’s hard to say. I mean, Hydra wouldn’t want to compromise its prized asset, but then again, he’s been out of cryostasis for a lot longer than the records say is usual. Maybe they’ve been putting him back in stasis so quickly because the Tesseract energy is compromising him?”

“Maybe we don’t have enough information. But this – this is exactly what Romanov and Barton need to track him down. And looking at that, our assumptions – there’s some urgency here, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yeah,” Bruce agreed with a sigh. “Any way you slice it, there’s urgency here. Brainwashed assassin that could lose it in the general populace, or alien tech that could either kill him, or go boom. We don’t know what failsafes they built into him, what … ‘incentives’ they added to ensure compliance.”

“Long road ahead.”

“Yeah. Think Steve is up for this?”

“Guy dropped into enemy territory with nothing but a set of tights and a wooden shield to get his boy back. And if the story’s true, he’d’ve let Barnes beat him to death rather than fight him. Pretty sure he’s in it for the long-haul.”

“He’ll have to be. All right. You deal with Natasha and Clint, I’ll start prepping the medical suite.”

“Why, Doctor Banner – I thought you weren’t that kind of doctor!”

“I’m not. But between us, we’re the world’s leading authorities on Erskine’s serum, _and_ the Tesseract. What, you think we should expose a civilian before we know what’s going on?”

“See? This. This is what it’s all about. We make beautiful science together, Bruce. Be my platonic science husband. Pepper will understand.”

“Great. Not sure I do. We don’t have to be married to do science, Tony. And you can guarantee me healthcare by putting me on the Stark payroll.”

“Done and done. But seriously, isn’t this fun? Unlocking the secrets of the universe, and saving an old pal? Old pal of a pal?”

“Yeah, right. Barrel of monkeys. Call me when you hear from Nat. I’m gonna see what I can do about putting together a Cap-sized sedative. Just in case.”

“You do that. I’ll contact our favorite Russian and pass on the good news.”

As Banner exited Tony’s lab in search of his own, Tony sent a carefully worded text to Romanov’s burner phone. She’d call when she was in the clear, and he’d be able to pass on the detail about Barnes and the Tesseract signature. They’d just have to wait for the Black Widow to locate and subdue her prey.

In the meantime, Tony continued to mine the confiscated data for research into Extremis to confirm Hydra and its affiliate assholes hadn’t sufficiently advanced that serum to pose a serious threat – he needed to confirm they hadn’t stabilized the serum, and that they didn’t know that Tony in fact had. He’d already seen more interaction than was healthy between SHIELD and its unacknowledged bastard child, Centipede. It didn’t surprise him that Centipede’s records were equally entrenched in the SHIELD data along with Hydra’s. 

What he wasn’t banking on was finding out who’d been in charge of the SHIELD unit spearheading the war on Centipede: _Phil Coulson._

Apparently not dead, and hunting Centipede.

He was _really_ getting pissed at Hill. They were going to have a serious heart to heart when she got back from Washington this time …

_"The Senate Subcommittee on the SHIELD/Hydra security breach called more witnesses today, including Maria Hill, a high ranking member of deceased Director Nicholas J. Fury’s team who was also involved in the battle against Hydra with Captain America. Ms. Hill is now employed by Stark Industries, which our viewers know left the lucrative field of weapons manufacture to become the world’s leading authority in clean energy. More on today’s session after the break …"_

**Author's Note:**

> So, comments welcome. 
> 
> Bear with me while I work through my backlog. I'd thought the next thing to be published would be Bucky's therapy session, but then I realized that too much of the supporting framework hadn't been finalized and posted yet. So my goal is to tackle "All Around the Watchtower" next - the story in which the Asset becomes more than Hydra made it.


End file.
